Stafford Installs New Audio System Including Midas EV Gear

Florence, SC (March 1, 2004)--Florence Baptist Temple is the home to a vigorous, 1,800-strong community that tries to make the most of every service. To that extent, the chuch recently updated its audio system, adding a new PA and considerable control gear. For the project, FBT contacted a local audio company, Stafford Lighting and Sound, to handle the extensive sound reinforcement installation. Among gear provided by Stafford was a Midas Legend 3000, a Venice 320, and EV line array boxes.

Florence, SC (March 1, 2004)--Florence Baptist Temple is the home to a vigorous, 1,800-strong community that tries to make the most of every service. To that extent, the chuch recently updated its audio system, adding a new PA and considerable control gear. For the project, FBT contacted a local audio company, Stafford Lighting and Sound, to handle the extensive sound reinforcement installation. Among gear provided by Stafford was a Midas Legend 3000, a Venice 320, and EV line array boxes.

Owner Rick Stafford noted that his company was known in the area for installation work, explaining, "We've been in business for 21 years, specializing in live sound, permanent installations and retail sales. This particular installation took place in two stages. The first stage was to upgrade the mixing console, so we put in a 48-channel Midas Legend 3000, which represented a considerable improvement in quality and versatility. We also brought in a Midas Venice 320 for use as a sidecar, specifically to accommodate the orchestra mix. The Legend really offers a great deal of flexibility, with a surplus of auxiliary sends to compensate for the absence of a dedicated monitor console. Aside from that aspect, the console sounds amazing, having combination of XL4 preamps and XL3 EQ's. As the church has a full orchestra, they could have used an XL4, but at considerably less expense, the Legend and Venice combination offered a similarly high level of quality with inputs to spare."

The second part of the installation involved installing a new PA. After a round of EASE modelling, the decision was made to go with EV Xi line array boxes, rather than the X-Array boxes that had originally been suggested. Stafford installed the Xi boxes in the existing large central cluster enclosure, and the PA in full now includes four Xi 2181F subwoofers above a half-dozen Xi 2153/64 full range boxes, along with a pair of Xi 1123/106 boxes as downfills.

"To do this we rigged a one-ton chain hoist and got the speakers to the bottom of the grid," said Stafford, "and then used a comealong to move them to the fly points. It was a tricky space for a large, tight cluster to go into in such a short timeframe, and I'm very happy with the way it turned out, as is the church. The system will be well used: they do an Easter program, a Christmas program, and every Sunday, they put out a television broadcast that goes out the following week. Having this equipment simply opens up possibilities for more elaborate productions."